


Lie Lie Lie

by ediblenapkin



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Dramatic timing, Friendship, Gen, Sassy Akira, Swearing, Time Travel, Violence, arsene - Freeform, crossposted on fanfiction.net under the penname allagenda-domsitzers-chan, first time on ao3, irregular updates, not sure yet - Freeform, oof, protag being dramatic, rest in pepperoni, these tags are gonna be longer than the list of my mistakes by the end of the fifth chapter, usami may show up, yalbalbadab
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-05
Updated: 2018-11-05
Packaged: 2019-08-19 09:02:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16531517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ediblenapkin/pseuds/ediblenapkin
Summary: She lay at his feet, breathing shallow. She managed to pull her head up for a moment, staring at him with glassy eyes- and damn was her face worse than it'd ever been before. "Sorry," she whispered, smiling weakly before falling to the ground and going still.





	1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hi, I had another idea. Basically, this is gonna be one big AU novelization of Persona 5, and will contain MAJOR spoilers Good news, though- I'm not sure about pairings yet! Which means at a lot of points, I'll be letting you choose (kind of) who to date! (If there are enough of you, that is.) So there's that.

Note: I'm on mobile at the moment, and fuck I am slow at typing on a touchscreen. And autoscjrrext is a douche sometimes, so warning ahead of time if something doesn't sound right. Try and correct me if possible.

For the record... I don't have a consistent update schedule. And I'm not going to piss people off by trying to make one only to miss one day and give up for good.

Finally, a serious trigger warning- this story is labelled angst for a reason. It shouldn't be too bad, but just in case. Persona is an M 17+ rated game after all. Best to be careful. Who knows?

Summary: She lay at his feet, breathing shallow. She managed to pull her head up for a moment, staring up at him with glassy eyes- and damn her face was worse than it'd ever been before. "Sorry," she whispered, smiling weakly before falling to the ground and going still.

The title is a reference to something. Anyone know it? And, this chapter is also a reference. Spot it if you can!

Enjoy.

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Akira hadn't even seen the guy who had shoved him.

He didn't have the time to try and identify any one particular, suspicious looking person from the bustling crowd surrounding the tracks. But somehow, time slowed just enough as he fell to find his friends in the mass of people.

Ryuji, Futaba, Yusuke and Makoto, having been available for the night, went out to dinner with Akira- no particular reason, just because they could. And since Akira was only visiting for a month, it wasn't exactly a waste of their time or his.

As they walked to the train station together, Futaba had taken Akira's bag to get Morgana, who had gradually gotten used to being pet by the resident tech master. She had been listening to Yusuke talk about something Akira hadn't been paying attention to. Makoto and Ryuji were talking with Akira about one of their classes for the upcoming year, which Makoto had already taken and was supplying excessive descriptions about the immense workload- which, of course, made Ryuji groan.

All in all, a perfectly normal evening.

As the sounds of the train began to get louder, Akira looked up, just in time to turn his back to the people behind him- including the one who decided to suddenly shove their elbow into Akira.

And since Akira had been standing right next to the tracks- why? He didn't remember getting so close- his foot had flown forward, and down into the tracks.

_I'm about to die._

And then time slowed. Behind him, his friends were yelling, and he was almost certain Makoto and Ryuji had tried to rush forward to catch him, but had been at the back of the crowd, too far away to do anything.

_Is this how it ends?_

Instead, he turned around just enough to catch a glimpse of the tops of their heads.

 _I came all this way, went through everything else and_ this  _is how I go out?_

Instead, he shut his eyes as his foot hit the ground at a weird angle, making him fall flat on his ass as the tunnel brightened from the headlights of the rapidly approaching train.

_... I don't want to die yet._

And for a moment, everything was silent. Akira kept his eyes shut, waiting for what was sure to be a painful impact.

And waited.

Instead, the quiet sound of ambient muttering reached him as something brushed against his shoulder.

Something almost like an arm.

Akira opened his eyes.

Around him were many people, crowding the tiny space of a single train car. Murmuring to each other, talking, laughing. Some stood, some sat.

Almost like nothing had happened- except, a lot of the ones around him were looking at him.

Akira looked down at himself, and noted he was on the floor of the train car, somehow. Blushing lightly, he stood, and noted the miraculously empty seat behind him. He sat, avoiding the eyes of the other passengers as he brushed off his pants.

 _How... How am I still alive? How did I get_ inside  _the train? Why didn't it stop at the station?_

Shaking his head, Akira realized that aside from being sore from having fallen weird, there was no pain in his body. Was this what it was like to be dead? He looked out the window, noting that it was suddenly bright out again.

 _What time_ is  _it?_

Akira fished for his phone, turned it on, then froze.

_No way._

His eyes stared at the time and date, hands beginning to shake.

_It's not..._

**4/9**

_How?_

He could hear the laughter and chatter of a certain pair of girls. "Mental shutdowns? For real?"

**2016**

Akira stared at his phone, which was telling him he was now almost two years into the past.

* * *

After having walked out of the train, Akira checked his phone. All his old texts, his friends' numbers, everything from April 10th on, was gone. When he tried to look on the internet for any recent news, all he got was events from 2016- the train accidents. Mental shutdowns. Petty crimes and the occasional uplifting story. But nothing else. He tried searching for Kamoshida, Madarame, Kaneshiro, even the Phansite- but nothing appeared except glory stories woven in praise for Madarame and Kamoshida, and forums rumoring about Kaneshiro. And the Phansite didn't exist.

For a moment, he stopped to sigh, shutting his eyes. None of this made any sense...

His phone buzzed, and Akira looked at the screen.

The icon of the Metaverse Navigator stared back at him, right in the middle of his map.

He tapped it, and it grew to fill half the screen.

_Don't you remember?_

Akira's head flipped up, and watched as the people gradually came to a stop. Everywhere, all around, was silence and people stopped in the middle of a step.

And in the middle of the square, just like before, was the beginnings of a familiar blue flame.

As it took shape, Akira gripped his phone. He recognised the faint form of Arsene, and his own grinning face looking back at him-

And then time unfroze.

Akira looked around, at the sudden motion, and everyone going about their business.

To himself, he wondered if this had happened to any of the other Phantom Thieves before they got their Personas.

* * *

Slowly, he made his way to Sojiro's house, even though he was pretty sure it was pointless- and was greeted by a postman Akira was pretty sure he had met on the very same day he'd been sent to start his probation.

"Looks like he's gone out... Oh yeah, Sakura-san's usually at his cafe around this time. Well, Leblanc's in the back alley, so I should make my other deliveries first..."

Akira turned and began walking towards the cafe.

Was he really back at the beginning of his probation again? Was this just an elaborate memory, and he was just walking through it? And what if it wasn't? What could possibly teleport him inside of a moving train, without anyone getting scared of him falling in out of nowhere, delete his phone data, block his access to any article from after April 9th onwards,  _and_  restored his bag (sans Morgana) to him in less than four seconds? Whatever it was, it didn't sound good.

The only thing that really made Akira believe that this  _could_  be April 2016 was the lack of thoughts in his head- and the fire in the square.

Even after the Metaverse had vanished, Akira could still feel Arsene in his mind. It made sense- after all, the parts of himself didn't disappear just because the Metaverse was gone. But still, even up to the present day, his Personas had always been there, fitting into his thoughts as seamlessly as possible. A presence just behind his eyes, watching and encouraging when needed. Steadying, helping. But they'd never left.

Not until now, when the only presence in Akira's mind was his own.

Not to mention the fire in the middle of town. That  _had_  happened on the day he'd arrived, hadn't it? He hadn't understood before, but now it was almost comforting.

Akira sighed, staring at the weathered cafe front, wondering exactly what awaited him within. A strong sense of apprehension nearly made him turn right back around and just walk away, but where could he go? It's not like any of his friends were nearby, and if Futaba had been at the Sakura residence she would have opened the door. Even so, the idea of just jumping back on the trains and going as far as his meager change would take him sounded like a great idea. Traveling all the way north, maybe hopping into a different city and exploring to his heart's content.

He opened the door regardless, met by the familiar jingling of the bell.

The sound drew some of the tension from Akira. It was kind of like a safety bell- he'd gotten through the day, and maybe now things would be calm. Maybe he could lay down for a while, listen to Morgana whine about staying up too late. He'd made it this far, and tomorrow was a new day. It was nice to hear, a bit of normalcy in this confusing moment.

Akira looked around, instantly noticing the  _Sayuri_  missing from the wall near the door.

There was an elderly couple sitting in a booth, currently the only patrons present. They were talking quietly, and Sojiro Sakura sat at the bar, concentrating on a crossword in his hands.

"...A public transit bus was driven down an opposing line with its customers still in it," a TV host was saying. "The citizens can't live in peace if this keeps up."

"How frightening." The old man muttered.

"What could be going on? Didn't something similar happen just the other day?" The old lady, who was probably his wife, murmured right back.

"Vertical is... The name of a shellfish used for farming pearls..." Akira nearly chuckled at Sojiro, who wasn't paying the least bit of attention to his customers. It was a welcome sight, but it wouldn't make Sojiro happy if he laughed. Akira instead shifted his bag, biting his lip and taking a deep breath.

Sojiro looked up. "Oh... Right. They did say that was today."

Just then, the couple stood up. "We'll be going now. Payment's on the table," the old man announced.

"Thanks for coming."

"This place is in the back alley, so there's no worries of a car crashing in here."

"...A what now?"

"There's been a string of those rampage accidents, you know. I just hope that none happen around here."

Sojiro sighed. "It's none of my concern."

"Haha, we'll see you next time." With that, the pair finally left.

As soon as the bell chimed, Sojiro sighed. "Four hours for just a single cup of joe." He then looked at Akira. "So, you're Akira?"

Even though he already knew, Akira asked quietly, "Is Sakura-san here?"

Sojiro relaxed a little. "...Yeah. I'm Sojiro Sakura. You'll be in my custody over the next year. I was wondering what kind of unruly kid would show up, but you're the one, huh? Have you been told? A customer of mine and your parents know each other and- well, not that that matters... Follow me." He walked towards the stairs, Akira trailing behind.

Upon walking up, Akira was met with the dusty attic, exactly as it had been when he'd first arrived. Everything covered in tarps, layers of fluffy filth, a cleaner box of his necessities sitting in the middle of the room.

_So am I really in the past...?_

"This is your room. I'll at least give you sheets for your bed."

* * *

Eventually, after talking about his probation and Shujin for a while, Sojiro left.

_I kind of forgot how on-guard he was when I first arrived... He probably thought I was going to be some beefed-up jock with his head up his ass. Or something like that._

After staring out the dusty window for a minute, and at the room in general, Akira winced, feeling a pang of loneliness. Ryuji wasn't here to talk to, Futaba was still hiding in her room, Yusuke under Madarame's watch, Makoto, Haru and Ann has no clue he existed... All of his friends from home had ditched him the moment they heard he'd gotten arrested- birds of a feather flock together but only for fair weather type crap, he supposed.

He sat down on his bed, leaning against the wall.

It all added up to one thing- he was alone. As fear as he could tell, his friends in the present thought he was dead- hell, maybe he was. Maybe this was what people meant by the whole, 'life flashing before your eyes' thing.

For a moment, Akira pulled out his phone as if to text them, but upon opening the IM app stopped. Not a single number remained in the chat except his own.

If only he could have. Maybe Makoto or Futaba would have some type of explanation for it. Maybe Ryuji would have been confused right alongside Akira. Maybe Ann and Haru would have said something comforting. Maybe Yusuke would have had some type of interpretation of the situation. Maybe Morgana would have sat up to help contribute to the conversation.

God, it hadn't even been three hours and he was already sounding sentimental.

Sighing, he stood up. If this really was the past, then he should really get his room clean- the sooner the better. Besides, the work might take his mind off the  _crippling loneliness from all your friends suddenly being inaccessible and not even knowing you_ _ **exist-**_

Yeah, it was time to clean.

* * *

_It's late. Seems I've been cleaning for a while..._

Akira looked around again, feeling satisfied. Most of the room was cleaner now, which brought a sense of familiarity. The trash bags were gone, most of the layers of dust were banished to the netherworld, and his box of stuff was back on the shelf where it belonged.

Sojiro came up, grumbling. "What the heck? I heard you making all sorts of noise up here, but I didn't think you were  _cleaning_..." He looked around, then nodded. "Actually, the place doesn't look too bad. Though it's only natural you'd want to keep your room tidy."

He took a moment before continuing. "Why don't you go to bed for tonight? You don't have anything better to be doing, right? I'm going to close up shop and get out of here myself. And... I won't be the one looking after you if you get sick from staying up too late, you got that?" Sojiro turned and headed back downstairs.

After changing into something that could serve as pajamas, Akira sat down on his bed, and could almost  _hear_  Morgana murmur for him to go to sleep. He laughed humorlessly, laying down and pulling the covers over himself.

As he waited for sleep to take him, he began to recall the events leading up to the present, his Confidants, and-

For a moment, he paused as he recalled someone he hadn't thought of in a while.

What exactly  _had_  happened to Goro Akechi?

Futaba had stated that his life signs had vanished, but what did that mean? Could he have just exited the Metaverse? Ryuji had somehow made it out, even when he had been unconscious... And if Akechi had indeed escaped before being killed, where had the famous detective gone? He'd been missing for well over a year... And, if worst came to worst and they had to face him again, was there a way to save him...?

What if he really had just been left to rot in Shido's empty heart?

Shaking his head, Akira shut his eyes- these kinds of thoughts had stayed away after a couple months, but now they were back. And that could prove to be distracting when he met the man, especially if he knew things about the detective not even his coworkers knew of, and judged him off it.

Akira kept his eyes shut, trying to ignore the memories of the events leading up to Shido's palace in favor of sleeping.

Instead, his phone buzzed.

Opening one eye, Akira looked up at the Nav icon that had returned to his phone.

_Of course..._

In order to try and keep things like before, he had  _attempted_  to delete the app. Of course, he thoroughly searched it first- and once more, Kamoshida's palace had returned. And so had all the others.

This time, though, he just sighed and put it down without deleting the Nav.

_My eyelids are starting to get heavy..._

Eventually Akira's body melted into the bed as he fell asleep.

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A/N: Oh boy, I really hope I can write Akechi soon. I gots many ideas. ;-;

About the whole 2016 thing, that's the most common year I've seen P5 get placed in. So I went with it. Sounded accurate... (Not that it matches with the present, but hey! It's April 2016 again, anything goes. In the past again. I'm sure by the time I finish this story, it'll be 2019...

I'LL UPDATE SOON OKAY? OKAY THANKS SORRY THIS WAS SO SHORT. ORIGINALLY iT WAS EVEN SHORTER BUT THE NEED TO OVERCOMPENSATE WAS TOO STRONG SORRY

Explanation comes in the next chapter! ...whenever that is. Ask me questions if you have any!

For the record, I am  _terrible_  at naming things. Sorry. Sorry sorry sorry. Seriously.

(Also I wrote down all the events for the days on paper so I didn't have to keep switching windows on my tablet... Eight pages, just for the first day... Damn.)


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i did all the work of doing all this.. and discovered I forgot to add a piece of dialogue in. i am so sorry.

A/N: So about that  _ explanation _ … uh, hey, look, a dancing bear! *points and runs*

(i legit forgot what i was going to explain so…)

Sorry, everything’s been a huge pain since I was last able to write. I’ve been doing a lot of things I shouldn’t have been, like adding things to my plate I had no time to deal with. Like getting a job, because I need to move out by May 2019. So… sorry, I didn’t mean to take this long. On the bright side, though, I downloaded everything I should need to get this and the next few chapters done! Yay! (Edit: already on chapter 4.  _ n o i c e . _ )

note to self: the p5 movie is _five whole gigs and you should never try this again on a school chromebook_ _that only has 10 gigs of storage space on it_

Thanks to Bowenross, Shiranai Atsune, NoCatAllowed, Nadira Padarima, Lovebug109, Haxuz, hyperdragon97, NoMercyOfDeath, Hatsune 01, and OtakuM for faving/following/reviewing. It means so much! ( _ so many people, where did you all come from _ )

**EDIT:** _holy shit i forgot to look up a dialogue option before updating_ ** _kill me now oml_**

Enjoy.

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**_4/10 Sunday_ **

Akira opened his eyes to the sound of chains.

He sat up and pushed himself off the cot, adjusting one of the sleeves of his prison uniform as he looked around again. The toilet in the corner, the chains on his wrists and ankles… which, oddly enough, looked slightly more cracked and broken than they did the last time he’d seen them.

_ I’m back. _

He looked to the bars, just in time to hear quiet laughter. From the left side of the room outside, Justine appeared, and from the right, Caroline. 

Akira was certain of something now- somehow, every last thing had been turned back. If even the Velvet Room looked the same as it had before… this was really April, in 2016. 

He really was going to have to do everything again.

Standing up, he decided to think about the little things that were bothering him later, after he’d gotten through this. 

Akira walked over and loosely held onto the bars, just as Justine and Caroline turned around to face Igor- no, it was the imposter at this point in time, right? Yaldabaoth. Did it honestly matter what he was called? The Holy Grail Possessed Grandpa. God Wannabe In a Business Suit. Chaos God Possessing a Trickster God. A moron in a clever man’s skin. Whatever Akira called him (in his head- not aloud, never aloud) made no difference. But it was probably best to just call him the Imposter.

The Imposter lifted his head, and held out a hand, wearing the same permanent grin as always. “Trickster…. Welcome to my Velvet Room.”

Akira shut his eyes for a moment, taking a breath to remind himself to not just suddenly request to fuse Personas. He couldn’t do that yet. Not yet.

That’s when something else occurred to him- he was going to have to go through  _ all _ the bullcrap involved in leveling up and gaining Personas and items  _ all over again _ . On the bright side, he remembered most of the major Shadows’ weaknesses, so it could go a  _ little _ faster this time around with the important fights. Plus, now he knew about the Reaper- he wouldn’t get his ass toasted on his third time in Mementos, like last time. 

“So you’ve come to, Inmate.”

Caroline’s speaking up made his eyes snap open. He shook the thoughts out of his head.  _ Later. _

“The you in reality is currently fast asleep. You are only experiencing this as a dream.” 

“You’re in the presence of our master. Stand up straight!”

Almost instantly, he slouched a bit more. Knowing that the being in front of him wasn’t really who he said was a bit of a relief- but at the same time, it was not comforting to know that the literal manifestation of people’s desires was just here to mess with him… and Akechi. Come to think of it, had Akechi ever seen the Velvet Room, since he too was a Trickster?

“Welcome. I am delighted to make your acquaintance.”

Akira shut his eyes again.  _ Focus. I’ll have time to think about things  _ later _. Later. _

“This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. It is a room that only those bound by a ‘contract’ are able to enter.”

Akira reopened his eyes, staring straight at the Imposter, who drummed his fingers on the desk.

“I am Igor, the master of this place. Remember it well.”

_ Oh, I remember alright. _

“I summoned you to speak of important matters. It involves your life as well.”

_ And here we go again… _

“Important matters?” Even though the Imposter didn’t seem to care, he still had to say something. It was supposed-  _ supposed _ to be a completely new experience, after all. He should have questions. And he did… just not the ones he was supposed to have.

“Still, this is a surprise. The state of this room reflects the state of your own heart. To think a prison would appear as such.”

Akira blinked. That’s right, it did, didn’t it? He even managed to summon his Phantom Thief clothes once he’d broken out. And that begged the question- if he’d already broken out, then why was he back in chains? He looked down at them, then noticed- they were cracked, like they’d been shattered and glued back together.

“You truly are a prisoner of fate.”

_ Prisoner… locked into the same song and dance yet again. Fair enough. _ Akira looked back up. 

“In the near future, there is no mistake that ruin awaits you.”

“Ruin?”

“I speak of the end to everything. However, there is a means to oppose such a fate. You must be ‘rehabilitated’. Rehabilitated towards freedom… That is your only means to avoid ruin. Do you have the resolve to challenge the distortion of the world?”

“I’d rather avoid ruin.” Akira knew that the Imposter didn’t care or find offense in his sarcasm (thank everything in existance). He wasn’t sure if he’d be able to get through doing the same thing twice if he wasn’t allowed to be snarky once in a while. 

“Allow me to observe the path of your rehabilitation.”

Finally, Justine and Caroline turned about-face, staring straight at him.

“Ah, pardon me for not introducing the others,” the Imposter dipped his head. “To your right is Caroline. To your left, Justine. They serve as wardens here.” The Imposter motioned to each of the twins in turn.

“Hmph, try and struggle as hard as you like.”

“The duty of wardens is to protect inmates. We are also your collaborators. That is, if you remain obedient.”

The twins…  _ I feel bad for them… at this point in time, they have no clue they’re being used.  _ Then one of the many times he’d challenged them came to mind.  _ But they’re not exactly helpless… plus, they get over it, and Lavenza…. _ He shut his eyes. Too many thoughts and questions were coming to mind, but at least it was helping him look accurately  _ innocent  _ and  _ clueless _ . 

“I shall explain the roles of these two at a later occasion,” The Imposter said as the twins turned once more, returning to face the Imposter.

“Now then, it seems the night is waning… it is almost time. Take your time to slowly come to understand this place. We will surely meet again… eventually.”

The Imposter looked up- then raised his hand just as an alarm went off. Akira looked up as well.

“Time’s up.” Caroline barked, glaring at him. “Now hurry up and go back to sleep.”

Akira felt himself slipping back out of consciousness. He made it back to the cot before everything faded away.

________________________

_ Even the Velvet room looked about the same. _

Akira sat on the edge of his bed, dressed. He’d felt a little… well, depressed when he’d woken up and remembered- Morgana was gone, for now, either trapped in or wandering about Kamoshida’s Palace. And he had no idea Akira even existed.

Just like the rest of his friends, aquaintences…

_ It was odd, though. Why, if I already got  _ rehabilitated _ once, am I having to go through it again?  _

He leaned back a bit, staring at the ceiling.

_ The chains were broken… was it because I already broke free once? And the reason they’re back is because of how I feel to be back here? Or something like that. _

“Looks like you’re up.”

Akira sat up as Sojiro walked into the room, wearing that one hat. The white one with black and red stripes. It was actually a pretty nice hat.

“Well then, let’s go introduce ourselves properly to the staff about your transfer. The school you’re attending is in the Aoyama district. It’ll cost you a bit to ride the train there, and the route transfers are a pain.”

_ Truer words never said. _

“I’ll drive you there, but just for today. Let’s go.”

As he turned away, Akira heard one of his favorite lines from the man to date-

“Sheesh… men aren’t usually allowed in my passenger seat.”

_________________________

They made it to Shujin without much comment. The school seemed a bit different than it had the first time around- instead of being slightly intimidating, unfamiliar, it felt a little like a waste of time. It wasn’t really that interesting or dangerous in comparison to a being resembling a God, after all. The real scary thing about it was the people who roamed its halls- and the most dangerous ones weren’t even around right now.

“Do me a favor and behave yourself, alright?”

Akira blinked, turning to face Sojiro.

“Don’t get me wrong- I don’t care what happens to you. Just don’t cause me any trouble.”

As he walked in, Akira was once again reminded-  _ no matter how much you know about them, at this point in time, they still know  _ nothing  _ about you. Remember, they aren’t your friends and allies right now. They aren’t your friends right now. _

_ You’re a stranger to them right now. _

_ You’re a stranger... _

______________________

“To reiterate, just so we’re clear, you will immediately be expelled if you cause any problems. Honestly, I hesitated on accepting someone like you, but there were some circumstances on our side…”

_ Wonder what they were... _

“You might have done a variety of things hiding in your hometown, but you  _ will _ behave yourself here. If you are thrown out from our school, there will be no place for you to go. Keep that in mind.”

Kobayakawa turned to Kawakami.

“This is the teacher in charge of your class.”

She looked up, and Akira automatically reminded himself-  _ she doesn’t know you yet _ .

“I’m Sadayo Kawakami. Here’s your student ID.” She slid the little card over to him, and he caught it. 

“Be sure to read the school rules. Any violations will send you straight to the guidance office…. And, if by chance you cause any problems, I won’t be able to protect you at all.”

She stopped, looking down at Kobayakawa.

“....That  _ is _ your promise, yes, Principal Kobayakawa?”

The principal made a noise of agreement. “He is responsible for all his actions.”

“But really though, why me…?” Kawakami folded her arms, eyes drooping a bit. “There should’ve been better candidates.”

“It was a sudden transfer, and your class was the only one that had an opening.” Kawakami huffed, but didn’t speak.

“If you’re done explaining things, mind if we get going? I got a store to get back to.” Sojiro shifted.  _ Took the words right from my mouth… _

Kobayakawa finally looked back at them.“Sakura-san, please keep a close eye on him. Don’t let him cause any trouble outside.” 

Sojiro rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, I’ll be sure to have a serious talk about the situation he’s in.”

After a second, Kawakami sighed. “Come to the faculty office when you arrive at school tomorrow. I’ll show you to your classroom.”

_______________________________

On their way out, Sojiro suddenly sighed and stopped walking. “They’re treating you like some kind of nuisance…”

_ I mean, they’re not exactly wrong. I’ve caused Shujin all  _ kinds  _ of issues since I…. _

“I guess that’s what it means to have a criminal record.”

And then he remembered- this was  _ before _ the Phantom Thieves formed.  _ Oh. Right. _

“Turns out your past follows you wherever you go.”

_ But only if anyone knows about it… for once, I’d want  _ someone _ to remember… before time flopped in on itself or whatever you call it…. except for my enemies. Any of my friends, say, would be fine. Appreciated. Helpful. _

“By the way, if you get expelled now, I won’t hesitate to kick you out. Got it?”

_...But until then, I guess I’ll have to earn back everything I lost. _

“I think I’ll scrape by.”

“I could save us all a little time and just kick you out now if that’s gonna be your attitude.”

Akira had to stop himself from smiling.  _ At the very least, I can try and fix a  _ few _ things… and hope it doesn’t come back to bite me later. _

“School never changes, huh,,,?” Sojiro sighed, then turned around again. “Come on, we’re going home.”

_________________________

And just a few minutes later, they were back in the car… and instantly suffocated.

“Traffic’s not moving at  _ all _ ... “ Sojiro growled. “You’re taking the train starting tomorrow.”

Akira shut his eyes.  _ And back to the ever fun game of  _ ‘how hard is it to find where I need to go’.. _ joy. _

“....So how was it? The school, I mean. Think you can manage?” Sojiro still sounded tense, but traffic was never fun.  _ Plus I’m sure he’s worrying about Futaba… wondering if anything’s changed since he’s left… _

“Eh, we’ll see.” 

Sojiro hummed, then said, “Now listen up. Don’t even  _ think _ of doing anything stupid.”

_ Does making a vigilante group count as stupid? Yes, yes it does. Am I doing it anyways? Yes, yes I am. _

“Still, you were expelled once already. To think you’d re-enroll at a different one. It’s not like anyone will be sympathetic with you.”

_ Except for Ryuji… but he’s the exception, alright. _

Sojiro shook his head. “If that’s what it was like at school, people might say stuff about me in the future too… What a troublesome kid I’ve taken in…”

“Why  _ did _ you take me in?” 

“I was  _ asked _ to do it, and I just... happened to agree to it. I’ve already been paid for it too, after all.”

And then the radio took over the silence. “ _ Again, a subway has derailed at Shibuya Station, greatly affecting the timetable all across the…. _ ”

“ _ Another _ accident…? So that’s why it’s so crowded. There’s been a lot of those lately.”

Akira shut his eyes again.  _ And that means I can probably mark off Akechi as anyone who remembers… _

_____________________

They arrived back at the cafe in the evening, of course, thanks to hours of traffic. Akira’s legs felt stiff.

“Damn, to think there’d be  _ that  _ much traffic… what a waste of time.”

_ Waste indeed… we could’ve  _ walked _ there and back faster. _

“I wasn’t able to open the cafe today… whatever. Just head upstairs. There’s something I need to give you.”

On the way up, Sojiro pulled out his phone, and his face turned. “Talk about a gruesome accident… Eighty people were involved.” 

Then, as he reached the top, he shoved it back into his pocket and pulled out a familiar little book.

“It’s a diary. Make sure you write in it.” Sojiro placed it on the table next to the staircase. “You may be under probation, but there’s no special limitations on what you do in particular. Besides following the law, that is. However, I’m obligated to report on you, which is why I’m having you record your daily activities.”

He stopped as his phone began to ring, and answered it quickly. “Hey, what’s up? ...I’m about to leave right now. Don’t worry, I’ll be there in no time… Uh-huh, I’ll see you soon.”

_ That’s Futaba, isn’t it..  _

“Well, I’m off. I’ll lock the place up, so do whatever you want for the rest of the night. Oh- but don’t mess up my store. If anything goes missing, I’ll hand you right over to the cops. You got school tomorrow… you better head off to bed, all right?” And Sojiro was gone.

Akira walked over and picked up the diary, noting how  _ empty _ it was. After he’d filled it up before time flipped, he’d gotten a new one- if only because he didn’t want to break the habit. It was nice, and a bit helpful every now and then if he needed to remember something.

_ It’s gonna take a while to remember that this one’s usable again…. Might as well get started. _

He walked over to the bed, sitting down and quickly recounting an  _ acceptable _ version of events that  _ didn’t _ include time travel… but he mentioned Akechi (under his codename), if only because  _ that _ was a huge issue he was determined to put off for as long as possible.

_ All of my progress with him just went under the bridge… he’s still…. _

Akira had just shut the diary when the downstairs phone began ringing.  _ Oh yeah… he forgot to turn the sign, didn’t he?  _

And sure enough: “It’s Sakura. Uhh… I closed up shop, but I forgot to flip the sign to  _ Closed _ . It’s too much of a hassle for me to go back, so you flip the sign for me. Well,,, I’m sure no one’s gonna come, even if it says  _ Open _ …. thank goodness, I was able to reach you. Sorry, I make it a habit not to save guys’ numbers on my cell phone.”

Akira smiled.  _ That’s Sojiro… _

“Anyways, I’m glad you answered the phone over in the shop… I’m leaving you in charge of the door sign.” He hung up, and Akira set the phone back down before heading outside. He flipped the sign, headed back upstairs, got changed…

He sat there on his bed, staring at the ceiling. 

_ Tomorrow’s Monday.. I get to meet Ryuji again. I get to meet Morgana. I get to skip class again… and get in huge trouble. I suppose there’s no point in changing that, though… who knows what will happen if I decide to wait for after school or something. Ryuji might just stop talking to me, and Morgana… what if  _ Morgana  _ remembered? ...probably not, but still. It’s worth finding out. _

Akira sat there for a minute, then pulled out his phone again.  _ Yep, the Nav’s still there… and it  _ will  _ be there no matter what I do.  _ Still, he deleted it-  _ I should be  _ suspicious _ of an app that just randomly appeared on my phone, not unconcerned and fine with it. _ He shut it off, and let his hand fall. 

_ My eyelids are starting to feel heavy… _

Slowly, Akira drifted off, feeling a bit nervous about what Monday would bring...

llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll

A/N: i’m out of practice…..

i know it’s pretty….  _ transcript-esque _ right now. I’m pretty much just going back and writing down what everyone says for now… but trust me, that’s gonna change. A while in, Akira’s gonna need to tell  _ somebody _ , and things will change. Plus, he knows  _ things _ now, so he’s going to feel the need to act differently.  And it’s not going to be a novelization- it’s gonna get weird. It’s an AU for a reason.

(it just might take a little bit.)

On that note, I’m still figuring out how I’m gonna make all the free time events work. I only have Part 1 of the P5 Movie (full walkthrough with no commentary, 22 hours long... ) and I’m having enough trouble figuring out all the other stuff without having to remember what days confidants are open or not, and all that. Unless you guys are cool with me just throwing everything everywhere and hoping it looks nice.

Finally, if you have any questions/things you’d like to know (and boy, soon you’re going to have a lot of them) my tumblr is @allagenda. deviantart is under the same name- and I’m much more active there nowadays. Send me some asks/notes, and I’ll do my best to answer.

k, storytime. i have no clue how to properly pronounce/spell Yalbrklnsufifoth’s name, so generally I’ve just put in  _ Yalbalbadab _ and left it there. THat’s literally how I say and write it. So if you spot it anywhere in the chapter,  _ please _ point it out. Please. I need to stop writing that as his name because it’s not and  _ uughhhhh _

note to everyone: never play poker with akira.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I'd love it if you reviewed.


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